Risk of Major Sewer Break Called Low

Despite having to put off the second phase of a sewer line replacement project for the Hill Canyon treatment plant, city officials say it is very unlikely the city will experience another rupture as serious as the one last year that dumped 86 million gallons of raw sewage into the Arroyo Conejo.

The replacement project, planned for this summer, had to be postponed a year because the city could not obtain the required permits from the state Department of Fish and Game.

“There is some risk in not having the project already constructed and going through another winter,” said Richard L. Bardin, project manager for the sewer line replacement project.

The city received a $2.3-million fine from the Regional Water Quality Control Board for its role in allowing the aging pipe to rupture in February 1998. The huge spill forced the close of 31 miles of coastline.

Thousand Oaks resident Paul Nicholson, a member of the Hill Canyon Preservation Coalition, has hiked through the canyon and said he is worried about sections of exposed pipeline where the supporting earth has been washed away.

“It’s liable to fail in any high rain. They should have repaired it this year,” he said.

Nicholson said another failure would be costly--for the taxpayers who would shoulder the bills and penalties, for farmers and coastal area residents, and for local flora and fauna.

According to Fish and Game officials, the 1998 rupture did not significantly harm plants and animals because the sewage was diluted and creatures can thrive on the nutrients.